MCP Plaid Phonics workbooks are 300 pages long and the first one appears to cover all the material that is covered in Explode the Code books A, B, C, 1, 2, and half of 3. Granted, there may be a little less repetition. For example, the short vowel coverage in ETC is about 100 pages (all of Book 1), while Plaid's short vowel coverage is about 80 pages. Still, it has 300 pages and is only about $3 more. I guess I'm wondering if I'm overlooking something or if I just don't understand something. Why is ETC so much more popular if Plaid seems to be a better deal?

I'm relatively new to the blogosphere and I'm just wondering how you all get products to review and give away? Any tips on making my blog attractive enough for vendors?

For children's books I would use either Amazon or Goodreads.

Wow. How do we get ANYONE to teach in our schools, with kids like this and the salaries we offer?

Yeah, I don't know anyone who doesn't love a good chocolate chip cookie. I've had way more sub-par chocoloate chip cookies than great ones in my life. The best recipe out there is Nestle Tollhouse--the one on the back of the bag. Make sure to adjust flour for elevation (if necessary). Sometimes, for a cookie that isn't so flat, I've seen people use half shortening/half butter (rather than a full cup of butter). The texture is nice, but the flavor takes a hit in my opinion. If you don't want them to spread, chill the dough for at least an hour before baking. Mmmmm...I really with our landlord would fix our darn oven!

Cathy Duffy has AAS listed under phonics (as well as spelling) programs. I'm sure spelling rules can only help reading skills, and all the threads I've read seem to be focused on its use as a spelling program, but I'm wondering if anyone actually uses it as their phonics program. If you use a separate phonics program, when do you introduce AAS?

So very, very helpful. Thank you for giving me an example of a sane and effective approach to math. And than you for this website! Great, another place to lose myself in math talk. ;)

I wonder if there is any. I've been devouring math threads on this board to the point that I can't think of anything else all day long. I have a permanent math headache! But when I pull back (as much as I can), I have to acknowledge that few of us on this board are math experts (I'm assuming). What do we know? Obviously we are--or are in the process of becoming--experts on what works for our own children, but with all the debates about various math programs and approaches, I wonder if there is any research on how well these methods pan out down the road. I guess I'm mainly referring to things like Right Start and Miquon and Shiller, etc. You know, does one really produce statistically significant differences in future (high school level and above) math performance? If not, maybe this is at least an interesting topic for conversation. And ultimately, I suppose my main question is: How the heck do I choose????

That's pretty much it. :001_smile:

I love this website! It has examples of lots of variations on the workbox system, so you can choose something that fits your space and preferences.

:lurk5:

...do you use things like Explode the Code, which has a lot of writing in block print? I want to use the Getty-Dubay Italic for my daughter. I just think it looks nicer and is more natural. But it seems like everything else that we come across uses zaner-bloser or something like it. How big of a problem could this become?

Of course! ;) I've been reading all your posts about Miquon and you've completely sold me on all the teacher books. Thanks for you help on this and so many other threads.

I'm going to be starting some Miquon with my dd (almost 4), so I obviously need some Cuisenaire rods. Questions: How many do I need? 74 or 155? I've seen some people mention that they don't like the connectable ones. Why not? And do you prefer wood or plastic? Oh, and where's the best place to buy the Miquon books? Thanks so much!

Skittle School...not a bad idea!

I absolutely agree that handwriting says a lot about a person, but that is also why I believe that it isn't heavily shaped by the way we're taught. For example, I was taught completely differently than my mom was, and if you were to compare our handwriting it would look slightly different. But if you look closely, you can see that they're actually exactly the same--hers is just bigger and less controlled, because that's her personality. Mine is smaller and a little more intense, because that is my personality. Ultimately, I think handwriting is genetic and its manifestation is based on personality. That said, I'm currently agonizing over the choice of a handwriting font for dd, and maybe I shouldn't. I was using zaner-bloser because it's more "standard", but d'nealian seems more intuitive and easy to learn. Hmmm....

I would get a Vitamix if I could. Though everyone I know who has a BlendTec says it is incredible. (Costco sells them.) I guess I just don't see the need to blend up some of the things people say it can blend up. I have a KitchenAid blender and it chops up ice (the hardest thing we ever blend) just perfectly.

Yes, this! If I had really bad stretch marks and a lot of extra belly skin that some mamas struggle with, I might consider a tummy tuck. Luckily, pregnancy has been good to me. I have the world's tiniest chest but that's just who I am. If I had $5,000 - $10,000 sitting around, there are a million other things I would rather do with it. And really, I'm just philosophically opposed to surgically altering my body for vanity's sake. People say they do it "for themselves", not other people, but why does it make them feel better about themselves? Because of what other people think. I'm all for exercising, keeping your body healthy, tasteful makeup, and reasonable fashion, but there is more to life--and more to me--than what I look like.

I totally agree. My dh is forever encouraging me to get out and we used to be really good about regular breaks. The problem is: once I get out the door I don't know where to go besides Barnes & Noble. I'm trying to convince dh to let me work a gym membership into our budget. Good for you, though! I hope you're feeling better.

I was going to suggest "Letter Factory" as well. It's incredible. My 3-year-old didn't understand the concept of letters having sounds when I was trying to teach them to her myself. Initially I just assumed she wasn't ready yet (no big deal), but two weeks with that video and she had them all down cold. Still does. It really is amazing, because it's low-stress and enjoyable, so kids are happy to do it over and over again. I especially think it's good for older kids like your dd because they are so discouraged and the DVD's are a nice "break", without really being a break. Oh, and it's only $9.

I love it! We don't have to have one but I thought it would be fun for blogging purposes and helpful for freebies. I struggled over it forever, as I do with all things like this, because I want clever names but I'm not generally struck with any brilliance and my stuff is very lame. So dh and I (okay, mostly me, but I really did try to include him) thought about what we wanted our school to embody. We really dig Leonardo da Vinci for what he represented: well-roundedness, success in multiple fields...you know, a "Renaissance man". I liked "Da Vinci Academy" and things like that but those names weren't available on Blogspot or Wordpress, so we went with Florentine Academy. But that name sounds really big, so while the kids are little we're calling it Florenteeny Academy--for the "teenies".

Perfect. Thanks for the list of what Happy Phonics covers. I think I'll add Explode the Code for sure (and of course some readers) and then just reference Phonics Pathways to supplement with random rules that Happy Phonics may not cover. I just know that repetition and reinforcement is important, but my dd gets really tired of having to repeat the same thing over and over. She gets irritated with me (and I can't say that I blame her). But she'll play games 'til the cows come home, not realizing that she's reinforcing her skills all the while. Thanks for your help!

Child-Size Masterpieces? I know it's kinda for little kids in the earlier levels, but the later levels are more appropriate for older kids.

Same here.

I like the approach of Happy Phonics, but I want to make sure it is as thorough as Phonics Pathways or OPG. I suppose I can supplement with one of those if I needed to cover a few extra rules, but I don't want to be "supplementing" so much that I might as well just use one of them instead.